


Sunburn

by wackyjacqs



Series: Bizarre Holidays [140]
Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-20
Updated: 2019-05-20
Packaged: 2020-03-08 12:48:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18894964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wackyjacqs/pseuds/wackyjacqs
Summary: Even though Carter’s done the math and knows exactly how long she can work before they need to find shade, he can tell that something is wrong.





	Sunburn

**Author's Note:**

> Written for ‘May Ray Day’ (19 May), a day for “enjoying the sun rays May brings as the seasons change.”

Even though Carter’s done the math and knows exactly how long she can work before they need to find shade, he can tell that something is wrong.

He checks his watch. His teammate has another twenty minutes left but suddenly she turns and stumbles. He gets to his feet quickly and grabs a hold of Sam’s upper arm just as her knees buckle.

“Easy, Carter,” he mumbles.

Her skin is hot. Too hot, even if the planet they’re on has two suns. His gaze snaps to her face; her eyes are glassy and she seems disorientated. He eases her down onto a fallen tree trunk nearby but the fact that she’s yet to resist his help or utter a word, concerns him.

“Talk to me, Carter,” he says as he grabs his canteen and presses it into her hands.

“Sir?”

“Y’alright?”

“I’m... fine. I think.”

“What happened?”

“Um,” she momentarily closes her eyes and frowns, as if she’s trying to remember. “I think I stood up too quickly.”

“Are you dizzy?”

There’s a beat that passes before Sam answers but it tells him everything she doesn’t. He studies her – her face is already a bright shade of red and when he catches sight of her arms, he swears under his breath when it looks like the skin is already starting to blister.

“Carter,” he sighs. “You used the cream Fraiser gave us, right?”

“Yes, sir.”

He nods, then glances around looking for his radio.

“Drink some water,” he adds over his shoulder. “Daniel, Teal’c, come in.”

_“O’Neill.”_

“Head back to camp,” he orders, pulling a tub of sunscreen from his pack. “Carter’s not looking too good. We may need to ship out early.”

_“Understood.”_

When he turns back to face his major, he winces, but even as he does his own math, he knows they’ve already spent enough time in the sun today to try and make their way back to the gate. He’ll do whatever it takes to get Carter home if he needs to, but he’d rather not expose her to the sun any more than she already has.

“How are you feeling, Carter? Really?”

“Hot.”

It’s on the tip of his tongue to make a smartass comment but he stops himself and tries to focus on the situation at hand.

“Do we need to get you back to the SGC?”

She slowly shakes her head, but Jack still isn’t convinced, so he sits down on the tree trunk opposite Carter and gestures for her to turn around and face him.

“Drink,” he repeats, nodding to the flask in her hand as he opens the tub of cream and reaches for her free hand.

Carefully, he applies the cream to her hand and arm, making sure the worst of the burns are covered and when he’s finished, Sam silently switches the flask to her other hand so he can cover her other arm. Again, that fact that she’s yet to show any discomfort at how _intimate_ their situation is, rings alarm bells, so he decides that he’ll finish this task as quickly as he can and give her an hour. If there’s no improvement, he’ll take her back to the SGC.

“Alright, Carter. I’m almost done.”

He reaches forward and with his left hand, brushes the hair away from her forehead. He can feel the heat radiating off her skin and his frown deepens when Sam hisses as he dots the cream on her forehead, across her cheeks and onto the tip of her nose.

“Sorry,” he mumbles, but Sam shakes her head at his apology.

“It’s cold,” she explains. “But it feels _really_ nice.”

His lips twist into a slight smile at the relief he hears in her voice and he gently starts to rub the cream across her skin.

“Does it hurt?”

“Yeah.”

“Hopefully this will help.”

Sam hums non-committedly as she lets her eyes slip closed, so Jack takes the opportunity to study her. Even though her skin is tinged red, she’s still one of the most beautiful sights he’s ever laid eyes on and he can’t help but grin as he replaces the lid on the tub.

“What are you smiling at?”

His gaze rests back on Sam just as Daniel and Teal’c arrive and he nudges her knee with his.

“I was just thinking about how hot you really are, Carter,” he smirks as he gets to his feet and leaves her staring after him, wide-eyed and turning a deep shade of red that has absolutely nothing to do with the sunburn.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for all your kind messages the past couple of days, they mean a lot and I will reply to them as soon as I can. :)


End file.
